First Division 2015

About

University College Dublin Association Football Club, commonly known as UCD, is the football team of the University College Dublin. Founded in 1895 as Catholic University Medical School FC, the team have a relatively small fanbase and were elected to join the League of Ireland in 1979. They are nicknamed The Students and the club is well-known for its scholarship scheme, which gives footballers the chance to play competitive football and earn a degree at the same time.

In 1896, UCD became a founding member of the Leinster Junior League and over the decades that followed, the team competed in various junior and intermediate tournaments. They were invited to join the League of Ireland as far back as 1922, but scheduling issues prevented them from doing so. Eventually, the club accepted a second offer to join the league in 1979, after Cork Celtic experienced financial issues and were expelled.

The team's greatest success to date came in 1984, as UCD beat Shamrock Rovers to lift the FAI Cup. Some of the side's other major honours include an FAI Super Cup, which they collected in 2000-01 and three Leinster Senior Cups, which they won in 1980–81, 1994–95 and 1995–96.

Kevin Moran is perhaps the most famous player to have represented UCD and he went on to play for a host of other clubs, including Manchester United. Other notable former UCD talents include Ciarán Kavanagh, who holds the club's appearance record, and Michael O'Byrne, their record league goalscorer.

The club's home matches have been held at the UCD Bowl since 2008. The venue, which also houses the university's rugby union team, is often known more simply as The Bowl, and was renovated in 2007. It can now hold up to 3,000 spectators, with aroud 1,500 seated spaces and it is hoped that the stadium will be expanded in the near future, allowing it to hold around 4,000 people in total.